SMU basketball player dies in Florida

SMU Huskies #14 Naomie Fequiere, left, drives past CBU Capers defender Samantha Minicucci during a Jan. 25 game at Saint Mary's University. Fequiere was killed in car accident near her home in North Miami Beach, Fla., on the weekend. (TED PRITCHARD/ Staff)

The Saint Mary’s Huskies women’s basketball family is coping with a loss.

Head coach Scott Munro confirmed Tuesday that guard Naomie Fequiere has been killed in car accident near her home in North Miami Beach, Fla.

Fequiere, 22, played two seasons for the Huskies, helping Saint Mary’s to the AUS women’s championship this March, after transferring from Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla.

Munro said he had few details about the accident, other than that Fequiere was a passenger and not a driver. The accident occurred late Friday or early Saturday.

Munro returned from a recruiting trip in Montreal late Monday. He said he briefly spoke to Fequiere’s family before arriving back in Halifax.

“I’ve never had to deal with this kind of thing and it’s tough,” said Munro, who recruited Fequiere out of the U.S. “We’re just trying to stay together. There’s been a lot of phone calls and texts yesterday, and for the last 24 hours, since we found out.

“(Our players) are trying to stay strong, but she was a great teammate and a great girl. It’s tough when one of those type of kids go.”

Many of the Saint Mary’s players live locally and were notified right away. CIS player of the year Justine Colley was set to play for the Canadian senior women’s national team in China.

East Preston’s Colley sent out a tweet expressing her feelings about a player who frequently shared the backcourt with her.

“Shocked right now .. Such an amazing person!” said Colley.

Fequiere, who planned to return to the Huskies for her fifth varsity season this fall, averaged 8.4 points per game during the 2012-13 regular season. But she scored in double digits in three of the last four regular-season games.

She scored 15 against Memorial in the AUS semifinals and 16 against St. Francis Xavier in the AUS title game to help Saint Mary’s to its first conference crown since 1977.

Munro said Fequiere “was her own individual” who managed to fit in well with her teammates.

“She was one of those kids who was very instrumental in all of our success last year,” said Munro. “She was a top-notch defensive player, the best defensive player I’ve ever coached at any level, and just totally took that selfless role every single night.

“She didn’t care if she ever really shot the ball. She wanted to do whatever it took. We had to beg her to shoot the ball because she was a good player. She was someone who always put her teammates and friends first. She’s really going to be missed.”

Saint Mary’s athletic director David Murphy said he spoke to a number of the Saint Mary’s players who were working summer camps on campus. The university has offered grief counselling.

“It’s a real tragedy when you have anybody die, but when you have a young, vibrant, athletic person like Naomie go, it’s very devastating to us all.”